Siberian 'dead alien' a web hit

The discovery of an alien's dead body in Siberia is probably just an elaborate hoax, but footage of it has captured the imagination of millions online.

Video posted on YouTube by All News Web, a site billing itself as The World's Only Inter-Galactic Daily News Service, shows two Russian men approaching and filming the apparent corpse of a small alien.

The shrivelled and decomposing body was reportedly found near the city of Irkutsk, just north of the Mongolian border.

"We found him around two hours ago," the cameraman said.

"It must have been lying here for days."

The body was apparently sniffed out by a dog, who led the pair to the extraterrestrial find.

While the footage has proven to be a YouTube hit, drawing more than 1.7 million viewers in a matter of days, most commenters have expressed scepticism.

All News Web's Michael Cohen writes that residents of Irkutsk witnessed a UFO crashing into a forest, though the event was "deliberately kept from public view" in the West.

"An enormous team of government officials, including military personal, secret service agents and science ministry officials made their way to the UFO crash site within hours of the event occurring," Mr Cohen wrote.

"Is the alien seen in this video a survivor of that crash who managed to leave the area only to die as a result of Russia's harsh conditions?"

While the corpse itself does appear somewhat realistic, a close-up reveals the snow has been consciously moved to make it appear half-buried.